NEW DELHI: Hundreds of angry protesters blocked the road demanding swift action against the alleged rapist of a four year old girl in Nangloi, West Delhi.
The accused was related to the child who called him ‘dada.’
The incident happened on January 27 when finding the house deserted the 38 year old accused took advantage of the girl. He was caught from the spot by the parents when they returned to the house. He was later arrested by the Nihal Vihar station police.
“He was a relation to the child and when we found her with him she was bleeding profusely and there were feces around. He was arrested by the police under the charge of molestation while it was a clearly visible that the child was raped. How can we be sure that police will protect us when such incidences are so frequent? I am scared for my children now who go to school on their own,” said Pinky, the victim’s aunt to The Citizen.
Ajaypal Singh, another relative and a hawker of old clothes, wasn’t very hopeful of justice for her, while a few protesters demanded that the rapist be handed over to the public. He said the girl has been admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital as her bleeding hasn’t stopped since and there were injury marks all over her face. Both parents of the girl are daily wage laborers.
The protesters blockaded the road a day after the act late in the afternoon and were vehement in their demand for the strictest possible action against the accused. “If it can happen to us then it can happen to your children too,” one of the woman protesters was heard saying among other protesters to the besieged cops, who in their turn were clarifying to them that there was no law that dictates that a criminal be handed over to the mob.
Later, Inspector Mukhtiar Singh directed that a copy of FIR be brought to the spot to assuage the restless mob and convince them that appropriate charges have been leveled against the accused. The police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the growing, and increasingly angry crowd. At least one boy was heckled by the police, who was among the crowd. A woman too was roughly handled and her clothes torn off, modesty outraged, when she was pulled from the crowd by the angry policemen.
Sharatchandra, SHO, Nihal Vihar police station, denied the rape, the protests and use of police force when contacted by The Citizen correspondent. “There has been no such act. No rape has happened nor protests whatsoever,” he said.
Pushpendra Kumar, DCP West Delhi, conceded that there had been protests but no force was used on the protesters. “The accused has been arrested and is under judicial custody. He has been charged under section 376 of IPC and Protection of children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO),” he added.
Another minor, a four year old, was also raped at the same venue by two juveniles from the neighborhood. Both the accused were arrested the next day following similar protests.